Shoe



F- BELYEA SHOE June 15, w37.

. Filed Nov. 9J 1956 Patented June 15, 1937 UNlTE TES ATENT OFFECFE SHOEApplication November 9, ,1936,` Serial No. 109,917

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in shoes.

More particularly it provides improvements in the juncture of upper,insole and Welt.

5 For many years the Goodyear welt type of construction having a ruggedall-leather insole, has been generally accepted as the best available inhigh class footwear, although certain defects and shortcomings havealways been recognized.

l The present invention employs the basic features of the Goodyear welttype of shoe but supplements, improves, and in some respects modillesthem, so as to provide a shoe structure which is vbelieved to besuperior to anything available l heretofore.

The invention provides an angular coordination of inseam stitches foreifecting securement of elements at the base of a shoe, therebyeffectively to distribute service stresses to two or more I separatedregions. This contributes to the production of a shoe structure whichcan retain its shapeliness throughout a long period of use.

It closes the open mouth of the crack, usually exposed between upper andwelt; and in a prac- 5 ticable manner it covers this region with aycontinuous surface oi upper leather to the extreme edge of the outsole.The punctures made for the stitching being plugged with wax and thread,this coverage makes the shoe waterproof, up to whatever standard ofimperviousness the leather itself attains.

A feature resides in the attaining of the mentioned continuous surfaceof upper along with all of those advantages of a general nature whichinhere in shoes having a welt as the primary means for securement ofoutsole.

A further feature is that the conspicuous display of inseam stitchesexteriorly of the shoe. coupled with the continuity of upper visiblycovering the region of the usual welt crease, give obvious assurance ofthe ruggedness and durability of the improved shoe.

Still another feature results from my novel coordination of inseamstitches, in that the lasting of the upper may be accomplished withoutany tacking of upper materials, including toe box stiiener, and thecounter, whereby the only tacks or nails needed are the nails whichsecure the heel.

It is, moreover, an important feature that my shoe may be produced withpresent shoe machinery at a cost which compares favorably with the costto produce better grade Goodyear welt shoes.

In attaining these results the invention employs 55 two distinct inseamsand embodies them in angular relation to eachother, i. e. with thestitches of each extending at a considerable angle to the stitches ofthe other. One of these inseams preferably secures the upper against theedge of the insole; and the other inseam secures the welt ,3 to theinsole, with its stitches passing through the upper, or not, dependingon whether the upper extends to below the face oi' the welt, or not.

The inseam which secures the upper and its lining against the edge ofthe insole preferably is conspicuously exposed exteriorly of the shoe,and extends completely around the shoe.

In a preferred form, the edge portion of the leather of the upper isout-turned a little below said exposed inseam, so as to overlie thewelt; l5 and the leather or canvas lining of the upper continues ondownward to be caught by the second inseam, and may be turned thenceinward against the under face of the insole.

Both lines of stitches are set in a single groove or channel in theunder face of the insole, from which groove the stitches of the secondor lower inseam extend obliquely downward, while the rst or upper inseamstitches, are more nearly horizontal, and mayincline slightly upward.The out-turned portion of vupper may either overlie or underlie thewelt. In each case I avoid producing an open-mouthed crack by extendingthe upper material, parallel with the welt and outsole, continuously outto the edge of the out- 0 sole. When the out-turned portion of upperoverlies the welt only the upper one of the two inseams passes throughit. When it underlies the Welt both inseams bind it directly to theinsole. In all cases the outsole is stitched t0 the welt in aconventional manner.

By stitching the upper to the edge of the insole the need for tacking inthe lastingoperation is avoided. The edge portions of upper, lining, toestifiener and counter may be trimmed away at the plane of the upper faceof outsole, if desired.

The double inseam feature increases the ability of a shoe to retain itsshapeliness in service; and also it produces a securement of elements atthe base of the shoe in which the at parallel contiguity of outsole,welt and upper forbids the entrance of water between them.

The term shoes is used herein to cover all footwear of species to whichthe invention is applicable, whether it be of the species sometimesknown as boots, or be called by other names.

It is intended that the patent shall cover, by suitable expression inthe appended claim, whatever features of patentable novelty exist in theinvention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shoe embodying features of theinvention, the exterior aspect being approximately the same for each ofthe forms illustrated herein;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional View on an enlarged scale, taken on theline 3-3 of Figure 1, of a fragment of one form of the improved shoe, atan incomplete stage;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional View similar to Figure 2, but showing acompleted shoe;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional View of a shoe on the same scale as Figure2, and taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1; and l5 Figure 5 is a view,similar to Figure 4, of a slightly modied form.

Referring to the drawing, Figures 2-5 illustrate in detail shoestructures in each of which two distinct inseams coact in producing theshoe of the invention.

In Figures 2, 3, one of these inseams I0 secures the upper I2 and itslining I4 directly against a full thickness of edge of insole E6, thesestitches I@ extending into the groove I8 of the insole and being visibleexteriorly of the completed shoe, as seen in Figure 1.

A second inseam 20 secures the welt 22 to the insole, this latter inseambeing comparable to that of the ordinary Goodyear welt shoe, except thatit does not pass through the upper but only through the lining of theupper which is engaged between the welt and the insole.

The inseam Ill may accomplish the initial securement of upper, lining,toe box stiifener and counter to the insole in the lasting process,thereby eliminating the need for tacking, and resulting in a shoe whichmay be free of all tacks and nails excepting the nails which secure theheel on its seat. Figure 4 illustrates how the counter 24 interveningbetween upper and lining initially is made secure by the inseam I0 andalso, ultimately, by the inseam 2B. The edge portion of the counter maybe turned inward with the lining and be cemented over the insole groovewhen the latter is pounded closed, as seen in Figure 4; or the edgeportion of counter which is in-turned in Figure 4 may be trimmed away asshown in Figure 5.

The insole I6 preferably will be of high grade leather, having qualityand thickness comparable with what is usual in better grade shoes; andthe edge is preserved at the full thickness of the insole stock, so thatthere can be a rm seating of upper and lining against this edge when theinseam I0 draws them tightly together. The usual facing 26, of canvas,duck or the like, may cover the under surface of the insole, and mayextend as a lining within groove I8 for reinforcing the insole stockagainst the pull of the inseam stitches.

In Figures 2 5, the edge portion I3 of the upper is outturned to overliethe welt 22, thereby to cover the usual welt crease or crack at the baseof the shoe through which Water may enter above the outsole. Thisout-turned portion of upper and the underlying welt are later stitchedto the outsole by the usual stitches 29.

The exterior aspect of the finished shoe is seen in Figure 1. When theedge of the outsole has been waxed and polished the cleavages of welt,upper and outsole become obscured. In each case a usual iiller 34 may beemployed between insole and outsole. The inseam threads preferably areheavily coated with wax. The stitching being done in the presence ofheat, accumulations of wax stripped from the threads seal allperforations.

The shoe thus constructed tends to repel entrance of moisture; hasimproved qualities of strength and durability; and persists in retainingoriginal shapeliness.

I claim as my invention:

A shoe, having an insole, upper, welt and outsole, in which a portion ofthe upper is outturned and overlies the welt, and in which one inseam,slightly above said out-turned portion of the upper, secures the upperto the edge of the insole; and in which another inseam secures the Weltto the insole; there being also means securing the outsole and saidout-turned portion of upper to the welt.

FRED BELYEA.

